Breaking the Chain
by ladymars
Summary: Sometimes good things can arise out of unpleasant situations.


Breaking the Chain

Lady Mars

Disclaimer: Back to one of my biggest banes: Devil May Cry fics set to music. My life is going to be hellacious once I get my hands on 3.

Once again, I do not own Devil May Cry; I'm just using Capcom's characters to my own devices.

* * *

_"Listen to the wind blow, _

_Down comes the night._

_Running in the shadows,_

_Damn your love, damn your life._

_Break the silence,_

_Damn the dark, damn the light."_

_Fleetwood Mac – The Chain

* * *

_

He stood proudly over the fallen, much as many ancestors had done in the centuries before him. In the simplest form, he was a murderer, killing without hesitation, without inhibition; nothing that stepped up to challenge the man lived long enough to tell the tale of war. His surreptitious manner of handling incidents landed him the name Cavaliére da la osuritá: knight of the darkness from the natives of the area. He was an enigma to all, never seen, never spoken to, never heard from, and preferred to stay that way.

With a small sigh, last carcass fell into the murky waters of the canal. The blood would float off in the air as the night passed, so there were no concerns with getting caught. The fishes would eat well again and the Venetian people would once again sleep without knowing the true dangers that the city held. The waters that churned slightly under the bridge as the body settled assured him of that fact. Nothing dropped into the depths of the murky waters to come back to the surface again. Anything lost in the Grand Canal was lost forever.

With a small, contented smile, he walked across the bridge and away from his dumping site. He knew he would be back in a few days, but that didn't stop him from becoming nostalgic every time he left it. It was his place of consistent death and rebirth. He grew with each death he had; he was becoming a phoenix: a beast most feared and respected as it rose from the ashes of death to conquer all those who opposed him again.

The bridge had been the sight of his first death in the town, the country, his first death in centuries. The last death had come from an unusual source: the Black Death. The disease had taken a liking to his flesh and had driven him to his knees before the demon blood bit back with ferocity. He had taken to the underground after that death; it was easier to avoid war and unnecessary deaths that way. He avoided it very well over the passing centuries just to have irony strike back at him again.

His first outing of true force and grandeur in centuries had ended in death, his own death. His dead body dumped off the very bridge that he now used as a dumping ground. The beast that had killed him had never given it a second thought; he thought he had killed a demon wearing a human mask, not a demon blessed with the actual skin of one. It never crossed the assassin's feeble mind to finish the job, to brutalize the corpse until the moment had become too late. With dripping wings and fiery eyes, he attacked his attacker, ending the pathetic being's life. It was a surge of power long missed by the man, though he wished it never included the horrid doings of death to get there.

But tonight it did not matter; the air was warm with a light breeze and the sky was clear. It was a beautiful night to be out and about even if the death portion of it was finished. There was something about the way the water hung in the air that made this a desirable place for him to be. _'Toss a bit of sulfur into the system and it would almost be like home.'_

He wandered the dimly lit streets quietly, his 'partner's' voice echoing in his head. _'You really shouldn't be going out alone.'_ She would chide. _'What are you going to do if you get ambushed? What are you going to do then?'_ For what she was worth, the smaller woman could be intimidating, but when one stands almost a foot and a half over the top of the tormentor's head, the effect is always lost. He knew she was being protective, but he still didn't listen. He continued to wander the streets alone.

There was something romantic about the streets at the current hour. The whole city was almost deserted; the only creatures that dared be out were creatures of the night and the creatures he hunted. He and his current partner had come to Italy on a whim; something had drawn the two of them there. Though his legacy danced through many a history book, no one gave him a second look for he was nothing but a mere legend to the mortal realm and he wished for it to stay that way. It was bad enough to have demon hunters on his tail as is, but to have the regular mortals running from him too would force his to return to his home in the Underworld.

He stopped on a dimly lighted street corner, eyes dancing around the darkened buildings. He kept a keen sense on the invisible creatures who were constantly on the prowl for him and the bigger, more dangerous, more visible ones who had come close to causing his actual death numerous times.

"Don't move," the voice was gentle and melodic, as sharp contrast to the harsh crack of the safety being removed and cold steel being pressed to the back of his neck. "If I were in your position demon," She spat the word out like a bad taste in her mouth. "I wouldn't be making any swift moves." He remained still; though the shot would kill him, he would rise again as a stronger beast with an insatiable desire for blood. If there was nothing worse than killing, then it was a killing spree because of a foolish hunter that caused an ascension.

"Now why would I go and do something like that my dear?" He asked evenly. "You are the one in the position of power here, are you not?" He could almost hear his captor hesitate. Giving one such a confident answer, yet openly admitting that they did not hold any power usually set the captor's head spinning.

"You're a cocky little bastard, aren't you?"

"Cocky, I cannot deny. But I can neither confirm nor deny the accusation of being a bastard. Many a child of the Underworld could be what you mortals call 'bastards,' but it is common ground for anyone who calls the trenches of a place so foul home."

He could feel her waver under his answers. She was obviously new to the game, a greenhorn as his partner affectionately called them. She barely had a grasp of what she was dealing with in him and, if he played his cards right, he would be able to flee with little or no damage to the girl and without having to go through an ascension. "Have I said something that bothers you my dear? You seem to be faltering more often than not."

"No." The reply was short and terse; he knew he was breaking down her well constructed defenses faster than she liked. This escape would come quickly.

"Well what do we have here?" The newest cat call sent electricity up his spine. This was a voice he recognized. The owner had caused one of his numerous trips into the grand canals of the city and one of his now many ascensions. The odds had just been upped in favor of his captors.

"I got one." The girl seemed somewhat proud of her accomplishment. "Got one in its skin." The man 'hmmed' appreciatively; that was quite a feat for even an experienced hunter and nigh unheard of for a beginner.

"So you did." The new man stepped closer, setting his senses screaming again. He wished nothing more that to rip this intruder to shreds for what he had done, but that would risk putting the girl in danger, something he was not willing to do, not yet at least. "That is quite a prize catch you have there my dear; not many actually catch on in its skin." He snorted; _'If only they knew what they were dealing with…'_ "Not even I have managed to do that, bravo."

"So now what do we do?" _'Run, run far and run fast my dear. You do not wish to face the wrath of an angered dark knight.'_

"Kill him of course." His eyes flashed an electric red before settling back to their normal shade of pale blue. The thought of death always riled the senses of a being, demons not excluded. Now his options had diminished severely; if he had to kill them both to escape unscathed, then he would do so.

"But how? This isn't a small demon."

"Just shoot him. We'll dump the body in the canal and never see from it again."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," The newest addition to the congregation was a great sigh of relief for him. He smiled half-ruefully; he would get reamed out for going out alone, but he was glad she was here now. "Unless you really want to deal with a newly ascended demon." He could hear them exchanging nervous, confused glances.

From the shadows that lay out side of the circle of light stepped a short woman wrapped in skin tight, black leather. Despite her diminutive stature, she carried an air of power on her shoulders.

"And why should I believe you?" The other man was being foolish. The tiny woman had offered them assistance and he was now refusing it. "For all I know you could be one of them too."

His partner scanned the other man. He stood on the fringes of six feet, swathed in white. His short, white blonde hair shined slightly in the soft light emitted by the street-lamp over head. The little woman tossed her thick braid back over her shoulder.

"You must be the Ivory I keep hearing about. Not too many people have the balls to fight in white. And, as much as I hate to tell you, I'm not one of them, I'm one of YOU blank boy." Ivory shifted slightly, eyeing the woman.

"You must be Ebony then," he replied calmly. "Pity, I expected you to be taller than this." Ebony snarled while her partner chuckled slightly.

"Can it," she hissed. "Last time I checked you're still the demon with the gun to his neck." He fell silent. Ebony turned cold eyes back on Ivory. "Let him go."

"Why should I? He's a demon, a threat to this world. He needs to die." _'Unless you're packing a mighty big sword, you will never be able to kill me my foolish little boy.'_ He smirked; sometimes he had to wonder how his deviant thoughts never slipped out into the air. "And who do you think you are cavorting around with one of them?" Ebony smiled.

"Who am I? I'm the smart one here. I know better than to be on the receiving end of any of his weaponry. I've seen what he is capable of and I feel safer on this end."

"Why do you say that?" The other woman's timid question drew his focus away from their quarrelling partners and back to the gun placed on the back of his neck. He couldn't help but smile.

"You have obviously never encountered an upper level demon after a resurrection." He turned his head slightly to cast half a gaze on her partner. "Very few survive to see the light of day after an attack." His voice was cold, almost hollow.

"U-u-upper level demon?" He now had her attention.

"Yes my dear, an upper level demon. I assume you are keen in the hierarchy of demons are you not?" She swallowed. "I take it you've never seen one before then, am I correct?" She swallowed again.

He turned slightly to see catch a glimpse of her. She stood half a foot under his height, but was stunning. He had never met a hunter who hunted in a skirt, but his gaze hadn't lingered there long. Her sharp blue eyes locked with his, her soft blonde hair shining in the dim light. "I am going to take your silence as a confirmation of my suspicions." She shifted nervously under his scrutinizing gaze.

"And what makes me think that you are an upper level? You could be a lower level trying to call my bluff." Unfortunately, her partner hadn't lost his spunk.

He turned slowly, the weapon now pointed at his throat, and locked his gaze on the man. The moment he settled an even gaze on the man, his blood began to boil. _'It is. It is the one who cause my last ascension. Petty fool; should have made SURE I was dead before leaving. I couldn't help but outright laugh at his rebellious thinking; these children, when will they ever learn not to toy with a servant of Lucifer?'_

"Do you really wish to find out what I truly am? For if that is what you truly desire, I would more than happily show you and you can see the ascension that you missed last time," he hissed, his eyes taking on a red haze. He had the other man's full attention. "Do you really wish to play with fire?"

"Ascension?" The girl questioned. She slowly lowered her gun. "Ivory, what is he talking about?"

"Eva…" Ivory growled, torn between taking the woman and running and staying and killing the demon. He smiled.

"Eva? Beautiful name you have my dear. Spanish heritage?" Her gaze wavered. She had never encountered a demon as polite as he and she wasn't sure of what to make of it.

"I thought you knew better than to be out," Ebony chastised from his side. "These are god fearing people for shit's sake and you KNOW that they don't like your kind." His cold, calculating gaze landed on the shorter woman, but didn't seem to faze her. "Do you even listen to me Sparda or is it all dead space between your ears?"

"Sparda?" The one word that fell out of Ivory's mouth faltered between a question and a statement.

"Sparda," the demon barked back. "As in the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda. Do you now realize what you are up against now?"

"How….?" The word slinked out of Ivory's mouth.

"How?" Ebony barked back. "How did your worthless little girl land herself the most prestigious demon? How did he survive your last meeting?"

Sparda's gaze drifted back to the Eva. She was visibly torn between what she had been trained to do and what her instincts were telling her to do. She wanted to run, run far and run fast, but something was keeping her glued to the spot. There was something compelling about the man.

The demon's eyes tore from the shorter woman and back to the darkness behind her. There was something approaching and fast. He couldn't see it, but he could smell it drawing closer.

In a fluid motion, he drew the thin samurai sword from its sheath, the metal singing as it slid from its holder. The katana shined in the dim light as he stepped around the woman.

"Sparda?" Ebony's question floated past his ears, but didn't settle. He was focused on the approaching demon. "Sparda?" He raised the long blade over his shoulder and took off into the darkness. "Sparda!" The man was too far gone to hear her.

"Nice," Ivory chided.

"Can it you ass," Ebony growled before taking off after her partner.

* * *

He pushed the last body over the edge of the bridge, smiling slightly as it collided with the water. 

"You're pressing your luck there." She pointed down the canal to the hints of sun that were creeping up over the horizon. He smirked.

"He'll be long at the bottom of the canal by the time the first tourists pass." The petite brunette smiled at his comment.

"Your father used to say that too, just much more eloquently." He chuckled slightly.

"He also dumped here, didn't he?" She nodded.

"Dumped hundreds before he left Italy. It was a crying shame he had to go."

"Why do you say that Ebony?" She smiled gently.

"He loved Italy, especially Venice. He said there was something about the atmosphere that was alluring. The only reason he left were the religious nuts. They were getting too close for his liking."

"Oh… He left here because…"

"He had too. He left because of her."

"Mom?" Ebony nodded.

"Yes Dante. Two blocks from here." She pointed in the direction that she had just come from. "She tried to kill him. Almost did." Dante chuckled.

"The first time they met, Mom tried to kill Dad?" Ebony nodded.

"She thought he was a lower level in his skin. She and Iv' were going to kill him."

"Would that have done them any good?"

"No, Iv' had all ready killed him once, dumped him off this very bridge actually, just to have him come back and hunt him." He chuckled.

"Is that how you and Iv' met?"

"In a way, yes. We became more involved once I moved back to the States. I don't know what it was about him that drew me back." Dante smiled.

"Does it really matter now?"

"Nope. But I think your father always said it best, 'Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your life.'"

"Fleetwood Mac?" Ebony shrugged.

"As I said, your father was an odd one if I've ever met one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She wrapped her arm around his waist. "Like father, like son." He smiled.

"Nothing, not even the eternal death, can break the chains that bind us."

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End file.
